Press release (Link below to download full report):
 
Paris – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) states in its report released today that the Syrian regime committed a massacre in Ariha city, the largest since March 2020, killing 11 Syrian citizens, including four children, even as regime representatives were participating in the latest round of Constitutional Committee meetings, to shameful silence from the United Nations, adding that this massacre embodies the policy of the Syrian regime, ‘negotiating’ by terror, killing and enforced disappearance.
 
The 34-report page notes that the Syrian regime has used violence, threats and terror as a basic tool in all the rounds of negotiation it has participated in; over the past years, the regime has consistently followed the same policy of launching attacks on civilians and murdering political detainees during the negotiation rounds in Geneva, or during the rounds of talks on the Constitutional Committee. This shows the extent of the Syrian regime’s disregard for the negotiation process, and its belief that it is merely passing time before once again taking its place in the international arena.
As the report further reveals, only two days after the sixth round of the Constitutional Committee meetings were held, Syrian regime forces launched the largest military attack on northwest region of Syria since March 6, 2020, in terms of civilian casualties. The attack took place in the densely populated Ariha city, another clear indication of the Syrian regime’s indifference to the agreements that could result from these meetings.
 
The report documents the responsibility of the Syrian regime, with Russian support, for the attack on Ariha city in the southern suburbs of Idlib, highlighting the details of the ground attack. The report also refers to the statements of condemnation issued by international organizations and human rights bodies concerning this attack, as well as providing the record of the most notable violations committed by the Syrian-Russian alliance forces since March 6, 2020, (the date of entry into force of the Turkish-Russian ceasefire agreement) until October 28, 2021.
 
As the report reveals, on the morning of Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at around 08:01, Syrian regime artillery forces began bombarding the city, coinciding with a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the area, and in conjunction with the students heading to their schools. The shelling lasted for about ten minutes, during which ten shells fell on separate areas in the city center, resulting in the deaths of 11 civilians, including four children and one woman (a teacher), and injured about 30 others, in addition to causing damage to four vital civilian facilities.
The report provides exclusive video footage from surveillance cameras that were close to the sites of the attacks, analyzes this footage and identifies the impact sites of most of the shells and the resulting casualties.
The report notes that the timing and intensity of the bombardment on an area of no more than 500 meters in diameter in the center of the city, which is devoid of any military features, is a deliberate act by the Syrian regime, with its aim being to cause the greatest number of civilian casualties, with the support of the Russian forces.
 
The report adds that the Ariha massacre is just one in a long series of violations committed by Syrian regime forces and regime’s allies in the Idlib region, one of the four de-escalation zones, which is also subject to the Russian-Turkish agreement – since March 2020. In this context, the report reveals that the attacks by Syrian-Russian alliance forces between March 6, 2020, and October 28, 2021, in northwest Syria have resulted in the deaths of 259 civilians, including 88 children and 41 women (adult female); 185 of the victims, including 60 children and 28 women, were killed at the hands of Syrian regime forces, while Russian forces killed 74 civilians, including 28 children and 13 women. The report also documents at least nine massacres during the same period, six of which were at the hands of Syrian regime forces and three at the hands of Russian forces, in addition to at least 60 attacks on vital civilian facilities, 51 of which were at the hands of Syrian regime forces, and nine at the hands of Russian forces
 
The report stresses that the attacks by the Russian/ Syrian military alliance included in this report have resulted in deaths of Syrian citizens, and in the injury and disability of many other people, as well as exacerbating the already extreme food and health-related suffering of the population, all of which add to the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in northwest Syria at various levels.
The report adds that the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance forces have unquestionably violated UN Security Council Resolutions No. 2139 and 2254 which ordered an end to indiscriminate attacks, and also violated international humanitarian law rules of distinction between civilians and combatants.
 
The report notes that neither the Russian or Syrian authorities have conducted any serious investigations into these attacks, or even into any other previous ones, with the Russian and Syrian leaderships, both military and political, bearing responsibility for these attacks based on the principle of command responsibility under international humanitarian law.
The report stresses that the Syrian regime does not care about the political transition process because this would lead to a transition from dictatorship to democracy.
 
The report calls on the UN Security Council to refer the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court and hold all those responsible accountable, while UNSC states’ veto power should be withheld when crimes against humanity and war crimes are committed. The report also calls on the UN Security Council to impose UN military and economic sanctions on the Syrian regime, especially the leaders involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
 
The report recommends that the international community should support the political transition process and put pressure on the parties to compel them to implement the political transition within a time period of no more than six months, and to renew pressure on the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.
The report adds that the Russian and Iranian regimes should face heavy fines and financial penalties for the destruction of vital buildings and facilities in Syria. These sums should be reflected in the reparations for the victims and the restoration of the facilities and buildings whose destruction the two regimes contributed to.
 
The report further recommends that the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) should work on identifying the responsibility of individuals within the Syrian regime who are involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes, publish their names to expose them to international public opinion and end all dealings with them at every political and economic level.
The report also calls on the UN Envoy to Syria to clearly assign responsibility to the party responsible for the death of the political process, and to disclose to the Syrian people the timing of the end of the political transition process, in addition to making several more recommendations.
 

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BY: Pool via REUTERS

Press release:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has issued a report documenting the most notable violations committed by the parties participating in the Constitutional Committee during the second round of the Committee’s Small Body’s meetings, indicating that 32 civilians were killed at the hand of Syrian-Russian alliance forces during the two rounds of discussions of the Committee’s Small Body.
 
The 15-page report notes that the Sochi Conference of Russia, held on January 30, 2018, constitutes the reference for the formation of the Constitutional Committee, arguing that this is the main way to end the conflict, even though the Syrian political opposition refused to participate in that conference. The idea of the Constitutional Committee was later adopted by former international envoy Staffan de Mistura, with the current UN envoy to Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, following the same path.
 
The report outlines the context in which the Constitutional Committee Large Body and subsequently the Constitutional Committee Small Body were formed, and refers to the context in which the first and second rounds of the Constitutional Committee Small Body took place.
 
Fadel Abdul Ghany, Chairman of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, says:
“These reports, which reflect only violations and crimes committed during the period of the negotiations’ rounds, aim to emphasize that while a draft national contract is being discussed, Russian and Syrian Regime forces continue to bomb hospitals and vital facilities, and carry out arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture; they continue with their ultimate goal of gaining more time to rehabilitate the Syrian regime according to the logic of military victory, and any of the negotiation process’s outputs will not be respected then. The international community and the United Nations should press the negotiating parties to stop the violations in case they are serious in the political process.”
 
The report aims to outline the most notable violations that the SNHR team was able to document committed by the parties involved in the Constitutional Committee (Syrian Regime forces, the regime’s Russian ally, and factions of the Armed Opposition) during the two rounds of discussions of the Committee’s Small Body, the first held from November 4 to November 9, 2019 and the second held from November 25 to November 30, 2019; due to these criteria, this report does not include any data on violations by Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-led Coalition forces, or the Operation Peace Spring forces (Turkish forces and the Syrian National Army) during this period. The report outlines the most notable incidents of violations committed by the participating parties in conjunction with the meetings of the second session of the Committee’s Small Body in particular.
 
The report explains that most of Syrian society expected that the frequency and severity of violations committed against it would decrease after the constitutional process began. The constitutional process usually takes place after the cessation of conflict and the start of negotiations, until the parties involved reach a mutually agreeable settlement after which they draft a constitutional declaration document based on this. In Syria’s case, however, the conflict is still ongoing, and the Syrian regime and its allies continue to perpetrate various types of violations, with some of these constituting crimes against humanity and others constituting war crimes; these ongoing atrocities include torture inside detention centers and regular bombardment of vital facilities, most notably medical centers. In addition, the fate of the forcibly disappeared hasn’t been revealed by the negotiating parties.
 
The report notes that although the Constitutional Committee is a Russian idea, while the Geneva sessions have been taking place, Russian forces have been conducting fierce and concentrated bombardment on several towns in the southern and western suburbs of Idlib. Also, the last third of November saw an increase in the pace of displacement, with the inhabitants of some villages and towns that had not previously been fully displaced starting to flee northwards as a result of Russian forces escalation of their air attacks on areas in the southern and western suburbs of Idlib, estimating that 30,000 civilians have been displaced, as the report states.
 
The report outlines the most notable violations committed by Syrian Regime forces and their Russian ally in conjunction with the first round of meetings of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, from November 4 to November 9, during which Syrian-Russian alliance forces killed 22 civilians, including 10 children and two women (adult female), of whom nine civilians, including five children, were killed by Syrian Regime forces, and 13 civilians, including five children and two women, killed by Russian forces. The report also documents nine cases of arrests by Syrian Regime forces during the same period, in addition to at least 35 incidents of attacks on vital civilian facilities, including four on schools, seven on medical facilities, seven on places of worship, and seven on Civil Defense Centers (facilities and vehicles), according to the report, Syrian Regime forces were responsible for 30 attacks, while Russian forces carried out five attacks. The report adds that the Syrian regime’s air force dropped at least 35 barrel bombs during the same period, all dropped on Latakia governorate.
 
The report also outlines the most notable violations committed by Syrian Regime forces and their Russian ally in conjunction with the second round of meetings of the Constitutional Committee Small Body, from November 25 to November 30, during which Syrian-Russian alliance forces killed 10 civilians, including four children, of whom seven civilians, including three children, were killed by Syrian Regime forces, while three civilians, including one child, killed by Russian forces. The report also documents 13 cases of arrests by Syrian Regime forces during the same period, in addition to at least six incidents of attacks on vital civilian facilities, four of which were by Syrian Regime forces, while Russian forces carried out two attacks. The report adds that the Syrian regime’s air force dropped at least 82 barrel bombs during the same period, most of which dropped on Idlib governorate.
 
The report notes that no incidents of bombardment causing material or human casualties were recorded by factions of the Armed Opposition on areas controlled by the Syrian regime during the period covered in this report.
 
The report stresses that the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance forces have undoubtedly violated UN Security Council Resolutions 2139 and 2254 which ordered a cessation of indiscriminate attacks, as well as violating a wide range of customary international humanitarian law rules, and also violating articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute by committing intentional homicide, all of which crimes constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report also notes that the incidents of bombardment have incidentally caused civilian casualties, including injuries, as well as causing significant damage to civilian objects. There are very strong indications suggesting that this damage was extremely excessive in comparison to the intended military benefit, with the attacks failing to discriminate between civilians and combatants in most cases. Also, it seems that some of the attacks appear to have deliberately targeted vital facilities and civilian areas.
 
The report further notes that the report issued by the delegates to the 2005 Summit states unanimously that each country has a responsibility to protect its population from crimes against humanity and war crimes. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, the prevention of incitement to commit them by all possible means, and when the state clearly fails to protect its population from egregious crimes, or itself is committing such crimes as in the case of the Syrian regime, it is the responsibility of the international community to intervene to take protective measures in a collective, decisive and timely manner.
 
The report calls on the UN special envoy to Syria to condemn the perpetrators of crimes and massacres, and those who are primarily responsible for obstructing the political process, and to re-sequence the peace process so that it can resume its natural course after Russia’s attempts to divert and distort it, empowering the Constitutional Committee prior to the establishment of a transitional governing body, and stresses the importance of requesting that the Syrian regime, its Russian ally, and opposition factions to stop all violations and secure good faith measures by stopping the bombing and at least to disclose the fate of the forcibly disappeared persons.
 
The report calls on the Security Council to take additional steps following its adoption of Resolution 2254, and stresses the importance of referring the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court, adding that all those who are responsible should be held accountable including the Russian regime whose involvement in war crimes has been repeatedly proven.
The report stresses the need to ensure peace and security and to implement the principle of Responsibility to Protect civilians’ lives and to save the Syrian people’s heritage and historical artefacts from destruction, looting and vandalism, calling on all relevant United Nations agencies to make greater efforts to provide food, medical and humanitarian assistance in areas where fighting has ceased, and in internally displaced persons camps, and to follow up with those States that have pledged voluntary contributions.
 
In light of the split within the Security Council and its utter inability to take any effective action, the report stresses the need to taking action on the national and regional levels to form alliances to support the Syrian people by protecting them from daily killing and by lifting sieges, as well as by increasing support for relief efforts. Additionally, the principle of universal jurisdiction should be enacted in local courts regarding these crimes in order to conduct fair trials for all those who were involved.
The report calls for the implementation of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’, stressing the need to resort to Chapter VII, and implement the norm of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly. The Security Council is still hindering the protection of civilians in Syria.
 
The report recommends that the OHCHR should submit a report to the Human Rights Council and other organs of the United Nations on the incidents mentioned in this report since these attacks were perpetrated by the parties to the conflict, should train Syrian organizations to undertake clearance of mines and other unexploded ordnance, and raise local awareness of the dangers of such ordnance, and should establish a platform that brings together a number of Syrian organizations active in documenting violations and humanitarian assistance, in order to facilitate an exchange of skills and experiences within Syrian society.
 
The report calls on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) to launch investigations into the cases included in this report and previous reports, and to clearly identify those responsible for the attacks in the event that results reached are likely, especially Russian forces; the reports of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic are virtually devoid of accidents that are responsible for air strikes, with the exception of only one in three years of Russian intervention in Syria.
 
The report also stresses that the Syrian regime must stop violating the Syrian constitution by killing Syrian citizens, destroying their homes and disappearing and torturing tens of thousands of them, stop the indiscriminate shelling and targeting residential areas, hospitals, schools and markets, as well as ending the acts of torture that have caused the deaths of thousands of Syrian citizens in detention centers, and complying with UN Security Council resolutions and customary humanitarian law and the Syrian constitution and law.
 
The report recommends that the Russian regime should launch investigations into the incidents included in this report, make the findings of these investigations public for the Syrian people, and hold the people involved accountable, as well as demanding that the Russian regime should compensate all the damaged centers and facilities, to rebuild and rehabilitate them, to compensate all the families of victims who were killed by the current Russian regime, as well as all the wounded, and to completely cease the bombing of hospitals, protected objects, and civilian areas, and respect customary international law.
 

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Press release:
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has issued a report documenting the most notable violations committed by the parties participating in the Constitutional Committee within the first week of its sessions, indicating that the continuing perpetration of war crimes by the Syrian regime and its allies is further evidence of insulting the constitution and the international community.
 
The 15-page report notes that the Sochi Conference of Russia, held on January 30, 2018, constitutes the reference for the formation of the Constitutional Committee, arguing that this is the main way to end the conflict, even though the Syrian political opposition refused to participate in that conference. The idea of the Constitutional Committee was later adopted by former international envoy Staffan de Mistura, with the current UN envoy to Syria, Mr. Geir Pedersen, following the same path.
 
The report outlines the context in which the Constitutional Committee Large Body was formed, which began on October 30, 2019, consisting of 150 members (50 of them from the Syrian government, 50 members representing the opposition and 50 representatives of civil society organizations selected by the UN envoy’s office according to undeclared policies and determining factors which are set by the UN envoy and are frankly incomprehensible, with this group containing figures with no knowledge of constitutional law, human rights, transitional justice, etc.) The report adds that Mr. Pedersen announced an agreement on the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee Small Body on November 1, 2019, to begin its work on November 4, with Mr. Pedersen stating that this process would take no longer than a week.
 
This report aims to outline the most notable violations that the SNHR team was able to document committed by the parties involved in the Constitutional Committee (Syrian Regime forces, the regime’s Russian ally, and factions of the Armed Opposition) during the week since the start of the Committee’s sessions on October 30, up until November 6, 2019; due to these criteria, this report does not include any data on violations by Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-led International Coalition forces, or the Operation Peace Spring forces (Turkish forces and the Syrian National Army) during this period.
 
The report explains that most of Syrian society expected that the frequency and severity of violations committed against it would decrease after the constitutional process began. The constitutional process usually takes place after the cessation of conflict and the start of negotiations, until the parties involved reach a mutually agreeable settlement after which they draft a constitutional declaration document based on this. In Syria’s case, however, the conflict is still ongoing, and the Syrian regime and its allies continue to perpetrate various types of violations, with some of these constituting crimes against humanity and others constituting war crimes; these ongoing atrocities include torture inside detention centers and regular bombardment of vital facilities, most notably medical centers. In addition, the fate of the forcibly disappeared hasn’t been revealed by the negotiating parties.
 
In the first week since the sessions of the Constitutional Committee began, the report documents violent and indiscriminate bombardment in many locations, carried out by Syrian Regime forces in the southern suburbs of Idlib and the western suburbs of Hama, with an increase in the frequency of bombardment in and around the cities of Kafranbel and Jisr al Shoghour in Idlib suburbs. Anadan city in the north of Aleppo governorate has also seen a significant increase in the frequency of ground attacks in the last three days. The number of ground attacks the report documented during this week-long period was approximately 162 attacks.
In addition, on November 4, the report recorded the first fixed-wing raid by Syrian Regime forces in nearly six weeks. According to the report, at least 11 raids were carried out on the fourth de-escalation zone, mostly in the western suburbs of Idlib governorate since that date.
 
The report notes that although the Constitutional Committee is a Russian idea, while the Geneva sessions have been taking place, Russian forces have been conducting fierce and concentrated bombardment on several towns in the southern and western suburbs of Idlib, totaling approximately 46 raids.
 
As the report further states, Syrian Regime forces have continued their policy of arrests during this week, which have been concentrated mainly in Damascus Suburbs governorate, primarily targeting people who had previously settled their security situation.
Also, the report notes, the displacement movement in the Idlib area during this period has been very small and limited to the southern suburbs of Idlib and the towns of the western suburbs of Idlib, with almost all the areas that were bombed already having been emptied of their residents.
 
The report outlines the most notable violations committed by Syrian Regime forces and their Russian ally since the start of the sessions of the Constitutional Committee on October 30 up to November 6, 2019.
 
According to the report, Syrian-Russian alliance forces killed 24 civilians, including six children and one woman (adult female) during this period, of whom 10 civilians, including two children, were killed by Syrian Regime forces, while 14 civilians, including four children and one woman, were killed by Russian forces.
 
The report also records 19 cases of arrests by Syrian regime forces in the period covered by the report, in addition to at least 15 incidents of attacks on vital civilian facilities by the Syrian-Russian alliance forces, including two on schools, two on medical facilities, one on a place of worship, and six on Civil Defense Centers (facilities and vehicles), Syrian regime forces were responsible for 12 attacks while Russian forces carried out three attacks.
 
The report notes that no incidents of bombardment causing material or human casualties were recorded by factions of the Armed Opposition on areas controlled by the Syrian regime during the period covered in this report.
 
The report stresses that the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance forces have undoubtedly violated UN Security Council Resolutions 2139 and 2254 which ordered a cessation of indiscriminate attacks, as well as violating a wide range of customary international humanitarian law rules, and also violating articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute by committing intentional homicide, all of which crimes constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report also notes that the incidents of bombardment have incidentally caused civilian casualties, including injuries, as well as causing significant damage to civilian objects. There are very strong indications suggesting that this damage was extremely excessive in comparison to the intended military benefit, with the attacks failing to discriminate between civilians and military personnel in most cases. Also, it seems that some of the attacks appear to have deliberately targeted vital facilities and civilian areas.
The report further notes that the report issued by the delegates to the 2005 Summit states unanimously that each country has a responsibility to protect its population from crimes against humanity and war crimes. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, the prevention of incitement to commit them by all possible means, and when the state clearly fails to protect its population from egregious crimes, or itself is committing such crimes as in the case of the Syrian regime, it is the responsibility of the international community to intervene to take protective measures in a collective, decisive and timely manner.
 
The report calls on the UN special envoy to Syria to condemn the perpetrators of crimes and massacres, and those who are primarily responsible for obstructing the political process, and to re-sequence the peace process so that it can resume its natural course after Russia’s attempts to divert and distort it, empowering the Constitutional Committee prior to the establishment of a transitional governing body, and stresses the importance of requesting that the Syrian regime, its Russian ally, and opposition factions to stop all violations and secure good faith measures by stopping the bombing and at least to disclose the fate of the forcibly disappeared persons.
 
The report calls on the Security Council to take additional steps following its adoption of Resolution 2254, and stresses the importance of referring the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court, adding that all those who are responsible should be held accountable including the Russian regime whose involvement in war crimes has been repeatedly proven.
The report stresses the need to ensure peace and security and to implement the principle of responsibility to protect civilians’ lives and to save the Syrian people’s heritage and historical artefacts from destruction, looting and vandalism, calling on all relevant United Nations agencies to make greater efforts to provide food, medical and humanitarian assistance in areas where fighting has ceased, and in internally displaced persons camps, and to follow up with those States that have pledged voluntary contributions.
 
In light of the split within the Security Council and its utter inability to take any effective action, the report stresses the need to taking action on the national and regional levels to form alliances to support the Syrian people by protecting them from daily killing and by lifting sieges, as well as by increasing support for relief efforts. Additionally, the principle of universal jurisdiction should be enacted in local courts regarding these crimes in order to conduct fair trials for all those who were involved.
The report calls for the implementation of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’, stressing the need to resort to Chapter VII, and implement the norm of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly. The Security Council is still hindering the protection of civilians in Syria.
 
The report recommends that the OHCHR should submit a report to the Human Rights Council and other organs of the United Nations on the incidents mentioned in this report since these attacks were perpetrated by the parties to the conflict, should train Syrian organizations to undertake clearance of mines and other unexploded ordnance, and raise local awareness of the dangers of such ordnance, and should establish a platform that brings together a number of Syrian organizations active in documenting violations and humanitarian assistance, in order to facilitate an exchange of skills and experiences within Syrian society.
 
The report calls on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) to launch investigations into the cases included in this report and previous reports, and to clearly identify those responsible for the attacks in the event that results reached are likely, especially Russian forces; the reports of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic are virtually devoid of accidents that are responsible for air strikes, with the exception of only one in three years of Russian intervention in Syria.
The report also stresses that the Syrian regime must stop violating the Syrian constitution by killing Syrian citizens, destroying their homes and disappearing and torturing tens of thousands of them, stop the indiscriminate shelling and targeting residential areas, hospitals, schools and markets, as well as ending the acts of torture that have caused the deaths of thousands of Syrian citizens in detention centers, and complying with UN Security Council resolutions and customary humanitarian law and the Syrian constitution and law.
The report recommends that the Russian regime should launch investigations into the incidents included in this report, make the findings of these investigations public for the Syrian people, and hold the people involved accountable, as well as demanding that the Russian regime should compensate all the damaged centers and facilities, to rebuild and rehabilitate them, to compensate all the families of victims who were killed by the current Russian regime, as well as all the wounded, and to completely cease the bombing of hospitals, protected objects, and civilian areas, and respect customary international law.
 

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Photo By: REUTERS/Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool

Facts and evidences, through the daily, cumulative documentation conducted by SNHR team, are telling us that we are definitely still far away from the stage of shrinking and reducing the crisis. The international community, the states that sponsor the negotiations in particular, haven’t taken any steps to limit the crisis’s deadly manifestations, in order to transition to the negotiation stage. The Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance is responsible for the most part, as it perpetrated vastly more violations than the rest of the parties to the conflict. The warplanes haven’t ceased the bombardment of civilian neighborhoods for one day, and tens of vital civilian facilities have been also bombed. Additionally, internationally-prohibited weapons, such as cluster munitions and chemical weapons, and indiscriminate weapons, such as barrel bombs, have been used in addition to incendiary weapons in civilian areas. Talking about releasing detainees and ending the siege has become a far-fetched luxury. There won’t be a settlement or a negotiation path as long as the U.N. won’t work with local partners to monitor the ceasefire, and hold those who violate it accountable.
 
We are going to shed light on the killings, arrests, incidents of attack on some of the vital civilian facilities – we will include in this statement only hospitals, schools, markets, and places of worship- and the use of specifically internationally-prohibited weapons such as cluster munitions and chemical weapons, in addition to incendiary weapons and barrel bombs. SNHR team documented during the fifth round of Geneva Talks- Thursday, March 23, 2017, to Saturday, April 1, 2017- the following:
 
A. Extrajudicial killing
198 civilians were killed, including 33 children and 36 women (Adult female) at the hands of the main parties as follows:
– Syrian regime force (Army, security, local militias, Shiite foreign militias): 92 civilians, including 12 children and 8 women.
– Russian forces: 67 civilians, including 9 children and 22 women.
– Self-management forces (Primarily consisting of the Democratic Union Party – a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party): 3 civilians
– Extremist Islamic groups:
• ISIS (Self-proclaimed the Islamic State): 7 civilians, including one child and one woman
– Armed opposition factions: 6 civilians; all of whom were children.
– International coalition forces: 15 civilians, including 3 children and 2 women.
– Other parties: 8 civilians, including 2 children and 3 women.
 

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Facts and evidences, through the daily cumulative documentation conducted by SNHR team, are telling us that we are definitely still far away from the stage of shrinking and reducing the crisis. The international community, the states that sponsor the negotiations in particular, haven’t taken any steps to limit the crisis’s deadly manifestations, in order to transition to the negotiation stage. The Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance is responsible for the most part, as it perpetrated vastly more violations than the rest of the parties to the conflict. The warplanes haven’t ceased the bombardment of civilian neighborhoods for one day, and tens of vital civilian facilities have been also bombed. Additionally, internationally-prohibited weapons, such as cluster munitions, and indiscriminate weapons, such as barrel bombs, have been used in addition to incendiary weapons in civilian areas. Talking about releasing detainees and ending the siege has become a far-fetched luxury. There won’t be a settlement or a negotiation path as long as the U.N. won’t work with local partners to monitor the ceasefire, and hold those who violate it accountable.
 
We are going to shed light on the killings, arrests, incidents of attack on some of the vital civilian facilities – we will include in this statement only hospitals, schools, markets, and places of worship- and the use of specifically internationally-prohibited weapons such as cluster munitions, incendiary weapons, and barrel bombs. SNHR team documented from the beginning of the fifth round of Geneva Talks – Thursday, March 23, 2017 until Thursday March 30, 2017, the following:
 
A. Extrajudicial killing
189 civilians were killed, including 31 children and 35 women (Adult female) at the hands of the main parties as follows:
– Syrian regime force (Army, security, local militias, Shiite foreign militias): 89 civilians, including 11 children and 8 women.
– Russian forces: 63 civilians, including 8 children and 21 women.
– Self-management forces (Primarily consisting of the Democratic Union Party – a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party): 2 civilians
– Extremist Islamic groups:
• ISIS (Self-proclaimed the Islamic State): 7 civilians, including one child and one woman
– Armed opposition factions: 6 civilians; all of whom were children.
– International coalition forces: 14 civilians, including 3 children and 2 women.
– Other parties: 8 civilians, including 2 children and 3 women.
 

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Facts and evidences, through the daily cumulative documentation conducted by SNHR team, are telling us that we are definitely still far away from the stage of shrinking and reducing the crisis. The international community, the states that sponsor the negotiations in particular, haven’t taken any steps to limit the crisis’s deadly manifestations, in order to transition to the negotiation stage. The Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance is responsible for the most part, as it perpetrated vastly more violations than the rest of the parties to the conflict. The warplanes haven’t ceased the bombardment of civilian neighborhoods for one day, and tens of vital civilian facilities have been also bombed. We will be including only, however, hospitals, schools, and markets. Talking about releasing detainees and ending the siege have become a distant luxury. There won’t be a settlement or a negotiation path as long as the U.N. won’t work with local partners to monitor the ceasefire, and hold those who violate it accountable.
 
We are going to shed light on the killings, arrests, and incidents of attack on some of the vital civilian facilities. SNHR team documented between Geneva Talks’ 4th and 5th round, between Monday, February 20, 2017, and Thursday, March 23, 2017 the following:
 
A. Extrajudicial killing
948 civilians were killed, including 192 children and 91 women (Adult female) at the hands of the main parties as follows:
– Syrian regime force (Army, security, local militias, Shiite foreign militias): 383 civilians, including 62 children and 39 women.
– Russian forces: 203 civilians, including 64 children and 23 women.
– Self-management forces (Consisting primarily of the Democratic Union Party – a branch for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party): 10 civilians, including 4 children and 2 women.
– Extremist Islamic groups:
• ISIS (Self-proclaimed the Islamic State): 251 civilians, including 25 children and 8 women.
• Fateh al Sham Front (Formerly al Nussra Front): 5 civilians.
– Armed opposition factions: 13 civilians, including 4 children and 4 women.
– International coalition forces: 83 civilians, including 33 children and 15 women.
 

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SNHR has released a report, in which the Network documents 55 major violations at least that were perpetrated by the parties to the conflict in Syria in the first week of round 4 of Geneva Talks, where 88% of the violations were at the hands of the Syrian-Russian regime.
 
The report notes that many acts of unlawful killing and bombardment operations were recorded even though Ankara Ceasefire Agreement has been in force since December 30, 2016, as the massacre rates have increased, and civilians and vital civil facilities are being targeted more heavily following the commencement of Geneva Talks.
 
The report also says that the detainees issue has yet to see any progress even though it was addressed in U.N. Resolution 2254 that emphasizes that all detainees, particularly children and women, must be released immediately. Furthermore, the report didn’t monitor any changes in the rates of arbitrary arrests in the areas under the control of the Syrian regime. Additionally, SNHR hasn’t recorded -according to the report- any unconditional releases by the Syrian regime from its detention centers, where such releases were part of prisoner exchange deals the regime struck with armed opposition, or by releasing detainees who are under the jurisdiction of the terrorism court after paying a cash bail, where the detainee remains on trial.
 
The report says that the death toll of the combat operations that were conducted in the period of time covered by the report has amounted to 413 individuals who are divided into 282 civilians, including 54 children and 35 women, and 131 armed opposition fighters. The Syrian regime killed 141 individuals – 99 civilians, including 24 children and 14 women, and 42 armed opposition fighters, while Russian forces killed 23 civilians including four children and nine women. In addition, 74 civilians were arrested.
 
The report adds that the Syrian regime forces and pro-regime militias are still denying the aids access to the besieged areas, where these militias detained, on Monday, February 20,2017, a number of trucks that were part of an aid convoy heading to Al Wa’er neighborhood in Homs city for a few hours, before the convoy returned without entering the neighborhood. This, certainly, doesn’t mean that the rest of the areas are in a better situation, as the aids are barely sufficient and, more importantly, the siege must be completely lifted -in accordance with the international humanitarian law and Security Council Resolutions- in all areas. The Syrian government is still demanding that the UN, the UN’s executive partners, or any relief organization have to ask for its permission before entering the besieged areas. However, the Syrian government, usually, denies permissions after an agonizingly and deliberately complicated procedures instead of facilitating access for aids.
 
The report documents no less than 55 violations that include combat and arrest operations during the first week of round 4 of Geneva Talks, taking place in February 20-27, 2017, including 42 violations at the hands of the Syrian regime forces, 4 by Russian forces, 1 by Self-management forces, 2 by armed opposition factions, and 3 by the international coalition forces in addition to 1 violation by other parties.
 
The report breaks down the types of violations that occurred, where 41 violations were through combat operations: 31 by Syrian regime forces, 4 by Russian forces, while 14 violations were through arrests including 13 at the hands of the Syrian regime forces alone.
 
The report calls on the United Nation to form a committee on the ground to monitor the violations of the ceasefire, identify their perpetrators, in cooperation and coordination with active local human rights organizations, and enforce sanctions and consequences that would deter the violators of the ceasefire agreement in order to preserve the continuity of the agreement, and save it from falling apart. Additionally, detainees must be released, and their fates must be revealed, and aids must be delivered to besieged areas.
 
Lastly, the report emphasizes that the international community has to link the ceasefire agreement with launching a political process that aims towards a transitional phase, resulting in a democratic regime, which will be an actual and real end for all the suffering of the Syrian people.

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SNHR issued a report in which it documented at least 396 breaches during the second round of negotiations, committed by parties of signatories to the cessation of hostilities agreement. 93% of these breaches are by the Syrian regime and its allies.
SNHR noted the increasing of breaches committed by the signatories of the cessation of hostilities agreement, particularly government forces and its ally Russia at a rate of 1.5 times higher that we already recorded during the first round of negotiations, where the pace of massacres increased, in addition to the increase of targeting civilians, the vital civilian facilities, and the medical cadres. However, the arrests have not undergone any improvement at all, and no one has been released, but the outcome of detainees rose. What are worse are the death operations due to torture, which amounted to 11 documented cases.

In addition the report stated that the government forces have continued to disrupt the entry of aids to the besieged areas. “Darya” city has not received any assistance so far. As the aids to Al Wa’er Neighborhood had stopped since 10 / March / 2016 and is still going on so far. This does not mean that the rest of the regions are better off; first, because aids are barely enough; second, and most importantly, there should be releasing the fully blockade -according to the rules of international humanitarian law and the resolutions of the Security Council nations, from all regions. The current Syrian government still requires from the United Nations and its implementing partners and any relief organizations to get approval to enter the besieged areas, often, these approvals are rejection after going through complexities, rather than facilitate access for such assistance.
The number of breaches, SNHR documented, during the second round of negotiations from the 13 to 27 / April / 2016 not less than 396 between military operations and arrests which are distributed according to the signatories to the statement of the cessation of hostilities: Government forces: 362, Russian forces: 4, Kurdish Self Management Forces: 20, and Armed opposition factions: 10

The report detailed the breaches to 61 through fighting operations caused the deaths of 219 people; distributed to two military opposition and 217 civilians, including 50 children and 28 women. While the breaches of arrests reached 335; 316 of them were committed by the government force.
The report asked the joint American and Russian committee to investigate these incidents, announce its results to the Syrian people and prevent it from happening again.
As it also demand the international community to correlate the ceasefire with political efforts that would pave the way towards a transitional stage that would result in a democratic regime, which will end the suffering of the Syrian people.

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